AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) Short Interest Up 5.9% in December

AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,860,000 shares, an increase of 5.9% from the November 30th total of 2,700,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 655,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.4 days.

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

AvalonBay Communities stock opened at $217.07 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $226.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $219.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 1.64. AvalonBay Communities has a 1 year low of $169.37 and a 1 year high of $239.29. The company has a market capitalization of $30.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.98.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by ($0.10). AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 36.20% and a return on equity of 8.84%. The firm had revenue of $734.31 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $731.67 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.66 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities will post 11.03 earnings per share for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.13%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 93.02%.

Insider Activity

In other AvalonBay Communities news, Director Timothy J. Naughton sold 2,261 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.78, for a total transaction of $528,576.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 111,436 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,051,508.08. This represents a 1.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of AvalonBay Communities

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AVB. Segment Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 4.6% in the third quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,025 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $231,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC grew its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 1,855 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $386,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. increased its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. now owns 1,268 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $286,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Tectonic Advisors LLC raised its position in AvalonBay Communities by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 1,934 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $436,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in AvalonBay Communities by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,244 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $280,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on AVB. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $244.00 to $241.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $250.00 target price for the company. Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Barclays started coverage on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $243.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $234.00 to $233.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $231.33.

About AvalonBay Communities

As of December 31, 2023, the Company owned or held a direct or indirect ownership interest in 299 apartment communities containing 90,669 apartment homes in 12 states and the District of Columbia, of which 18 communities were under development. The Company is an equity REIT in the business of developing, redeveloping, acquiring and managing apartment communities in leading metropolitan areas in New England, the New York/New Jersey Metro area, the Mid-Atlantic, the Pacific Northwest, and Northern and Southern California, as well as in the Company's expansion regions of Raleigh-Durham and Charlotte, North Carolina, Southeast Florida, Dallas and Austin, Texas, and Denver, Colorado.